journal Start of shrimp room

[ineke]

Thank you feel free to ask away just don't expect a short answer I am renowned for verbal diahorea LOL .

[K9932]

This looks neat!

I wouldn't mind this for my tanks but I can understand how taking photos might be a problem, unless you do it side on like you have above ^^

Nice work!

[ineke]

Yes I need to work that out although I took heaps of pictures today without camera or flash or even me being in the picture. Focusing on the shrimp at a slightly higher angle seems to work rather than front on .

[Heavyd]

If the shrimp are closer to the front of the tank, you can use a wider aperture (lower F-stop value), this should create a nice, narrow depth of field and blur out the background for you, so you wont see the mirror.

For a full tank shot, it may be harder :P

[ineke]

Thanks HeavyD I've been getting slack again and using auto. I really MUST read the book and practice the settings.

[ineke]

Thought it about time I did a little update on my room. It's all working well, the plants are growing Ok with the LED's I chose, all the shrimp are breeding and the care of the tanks is very easy.

 

 

 

 

Blue Velvet

 

CBS

 

 

Cull Rilis

 

Yellows

 

 

 

TB, Mischling, Tibees

 

Cull Blues

 

 

Rili

 

Tibee, TBM, Mischling, CBS, CRS -this is my mix them up and see what you get tank

 

Chocolate

 

 

 

Culls

 

As I now use my 980 for breeding CRS I no longer have a big community cull tank and I have quite a few culls that are not good for anything really so I have to decide what to do with them. I have a heap outside in the pond but they just keeping breeding and they are getting back to wild type shrimp. I might need to buy a few goldfish I think. I never thought that would be an option but enough is enough.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 13, 2014 by ineke

[CNgo2006]

Wow ineke who would have thought you would have this many shrimp tanks when you first started hey? Although we all end up with more...lol! Very nice btw.

Edited June 13, 2014 by CNgo2006

[ineke]

Thanks Chi. No I sure didn't think I would have that many let alone stay with the hobby - I lose interest very quickly but not in this case! I still have 9 unused tanks too! They are the ones I started with - all mix and match types but they are there just incase!

If Ninja was still here I would be in trouble because you can see my heaters!

Edited June 13, 2014 by ineke

[newbreed]

If Ninja was still here I would be in trouble because you can see my heaters!

And you have them on an angle! She wouldn't forgive you for that!!

The tanks look fantastic, glad it's all come together and is working well for you! What an awesome room!

[ineke]

Thanks Jamie.

I almost want to hide them just for Ninja but its not going to happen. The heaters are at an angle so I don't have too much of a hot spot in one corner!

[JPN07]

Tanks are looking great Ineke. Good job :)

[ineke]

Thank you :) I'm happy with my little lot.

[yeswaitnosorry]

Love your tanks. Please keep sharing photos.

[Squiggle]

Looks awesome Ineke, definitely come a long way in the last 18mths, well done!

[ineke]

I'm pretty happy with it all now. When I come back from holidays I'm going to do some heavy culling of the Cherries and try to improve the colours. I just have to get my head around what to do with the culls. I have several tanks full of really low grade/mixed type cherries that in all honesty are not suitable for breeding with - they came from my community tank and while some are very nice in their own right they are more wild type than anything else- I don't even think I should give them away so the fish tank may need to make a come back :(

[OzShrimp]

looking good ineke!

[inverted]

You should sell your culls!

Do you think your mosses grow at all under the leds? I have the same ones and want to make sure my mosses don't die when I install them.

[ineke]

My moss is growing reasonably well as are the other plants. I leave them on about 8 hours.

I give away my culls that are from my pure strains, but the ones I'm talking about are not any good for breeding as they are culls from different colours that have bred together and are REAL culls. they were in a community tank of all different colours but are now reverting to wild types. Some have a nice blue colour but I have no idea what their background is- could be rili ,could be black or a mixture of both but not good enough for a breeding program. I caught a heap this morning to put out in the pond and when they are in a white container they show a nice colour but once in the tank and they are almost clear.

[tomrum88]

Wow! Very nice set up

[buck]

Thank you feel free to ask away just don't expect a short answer I am renowned for verbal diahorea LOL .

hows the shrimp room going? a nice long winded update with lots of pics would go down a treat

[ineke]

Buck shortly after the last update I had disaster strike in my shrimp room. I changed the substrate and for what ever reason -I never did find out but have my thoughts- all my tanks crashed. I lost the majority of my cherries and all my TB's. Luckily I had a few cull black cherries in my CRS tank which is a big tank that wasn't changed and so my colony in there was fine.

I have lots of Mischlings, TBMM ,Tibees, CBS and ofcourse my huge colony of CRS. The CRS as I said weren't affected but I lost lots of the others and the ones that were left have just started breeding again. It took them 6 months to recover.

As to what happened  I have gone over it with a few people and nothing really stands out. I didn't change them all at once, I only changed the substrate ,siphoning out 80% of the water to reuse and all the filters and plants were put back in, the tanks were left to run for a week or so then tested and the shrimp reacclimatised to the tank, the water I was using was also being used in my big CRS tank in another room. The problem happened over a month and the tanks were changed in groups of 2 or 3. I am the only one that goes in the room -the grandchildren hadn't been, hubby only comes to look, no sprays are used, i never wear oils or creams and never put on perfume during the day so those bases were covered. The only problem I could see was the water ph levels were and still are way too low -below 5 by a calibrated ph pen - my usual API test kit doesn't go that low. The cherries couldn't take it and it stressed most of the older  Crystal shrimp etc, but most of the babies survived and are now breeding. I have changed a few of the tanks back to the old substrate -it was only 8 months old so still viable and I had stored it carefully- I have my cherries in those tanks but mainly just Blacks with a few blue coming through -plus a few cull Rilis. I will take a few pictures but the tanks are basically the same with the exception of the strip of light substrate at the front- with my better LED lighting I don't need that anymore. I am hanging out to get some TB's but will wait until the hot weather is over and my courage and confidence  comes back.  My breeding program as it was is gone but luckily my female mischlings were F8 and I am getting a few TBMM in the babies so they will give me a head start. As to the Cherries I probably won't continue with them except my Blacks as they are really good even though they were my culls and I just can't not have any cherries.

Onward and upward from here I hope. Poor Jay and Jamie have had their ears bashed with my woes but have been great help and comfort to me and I thank them both for their patience and friendship . That's the SKF love this forum has always been known for!

[revolutionhope]

where is the thumbsdown button? :-( I remember u said u had a bad year it sounds more like u had a terrible year ! wish u all the best in 2015 !!

[buck]

Wow that sucks! Fingers crossed for you this Year! what soil was the issue?

[ineke]

Thanks guys. 

 

I don't want to name a product when there is not 100% proof that it was at fault.

Let me say it is not a widely used one here and also it is NOT  Benibachi -that is the soil I had in my tanks and had no issue with it -the other soil had been given to me for house sitting I would not have been able to afford it myself. If someone really needs to know depending on your   reason I may mention it privately but I won't be announcing it publicly- I'm pretty sure that NONE of our sponsors  sells this product so you are all safe to continue using our preferred substrates. As I said I can't be 100% sure it was the substrate there may have been something i did that we have missed and it could very well be my fault- i just hope it wasn't.   

[OzShrimp]

Can you pm me and tell me i always like to know just incase i ever encounter it and consider buying.